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Area 3 Adventure/Survival Training Camp (A/STC)

AMKSS NPCC
Jul 17, 2017
5 min read

This year, our Secondary 2 and 3 cadets attended the annual Area 3 Adventure/Survival Training Camp (A/STC) from 14th to 16th July. We were also joined by Naval Base and Christ Church Secondary School.

The theme for this year's camp was Empire. Over the 3 days 2 nights, campers went through a series of activities with cadets from other schools in their respective Empires (groups) and strive to become the best Empire!

Below is a recount from 2 of our cadets, Ethan and Cheng Ze for ATC and STC respectively.

Ethan Wong, ATC

This year, I attended the annual NPCC area camp held at Pulau Ubin Camp Resilience. The camp tested our resilience as we had to step out of our comfort zones - participate in activities that test our courage and separation from technology, which made us look around and admire Mother Nature.

On the first day, we were separated from our squadmates and placed in different groups. We played ice breakers games, which allowed us to make new friends and bond with people from other units. This is important as we would be in groups for the rest of the camp and have to depend on one another.

We went on to design a group flag which represents unity for our group. At night, we did our campfire preparation and concluded the first day.

Second day was where all the fun came about. We had 3 activities - land expedition, water confidence jump (WCJ) and rock climbing.

When I first heard of this, I was elated and could not wait for it to start. Unfortunately, it was raining the previous night and the rocks were wet. Due to safety reasons, we could not carry out the activity. I was quite disappointed as rock climbing was one of my favourite activities.

Next was land expedition. Although it was tiring, it was an interesting experience. We got to see most of the attractions in Pulau Ubin which was beautiful.

Lastly, it was WCJ. I was hyped for this one! We first put on the PFD and were briefed on the safety rules. Before the jump, we had a tutorial lesson. The tutorial was fun, and it was also a chance for me to pull my courage together. After the tutorial, we went for the plank to prepare for the jump. I was the 2nd person to jump and was quite excited! However, just as I was about to jump, guess what, a jellyfish popped out. So that was also the end of that activity. I left there feeling a little disappointed but comforted myself as at least, I did the tutorial.

The last activity of the day was campfire and it was better than I thought. It was quite cool and out of the ordinary, very different from the one we had in school. The fire even had colours on it. There were many hilarious and nice skits and cheers done by the groups. I felt sad when the campfire ended as it meant that the camp is coming to an end.

The last day was area cleaning and soon, we bid goodbye to our new found friends and sped off to Changi Jetty by the bumboat.

This camp gave me new experiences and memories that I enjoyed and brought home. I’ve learnt many things from the camp - sitting posture, having respect for the instructors, my friends and myself, always be responsible, sense of urgency and teamwork.

My group kind of got into a civil war and did not accomplish anything. Because of this, we lost much time. However, when we worked together, things got accomplished faster. Hence, teamwork is very important. Last but not least, resilience - we must endure the discomfort and not give up.

With the activities I did I would give it a 7/10 but if I did the activities we did not manage do, I would give the camp a 10/10.

Lee Cheng Ze, STC

On day 1, I wasn’t really excited about the camp as I thought it would be boring. Upon arrival, we got into our groups and get to know our new friends! We shared our interests, likes and dislikes. Through this short session, we got to to know one another better and some of us even found out that we have similar interests. Even though all of us come from different schools and went into camp as strangers, it felt like we knew each other for a very long time with the common things we have.

In the blink of an eye, it was day 2. I was particularly excited for this day as all the main activities will be held, like pioneering and the most anticipated activity, the double flying fox. My group was the first to do the high elements so I had mixed emotions. Excited because it will be a thrilling experience but nervous as I have a fear of heights. However, I told myself that I had to conquer my fear and it is not the first time doing high elements. When I climbed the staircase, my heart palpitated wildly and I was breaking out in cold sweat. I convinced myself to just finish the activity since I am already climbing the stairs. When I was on the flying fox platform, it was definitely nerve wrecking but I decided to close my eyes and push myself off. I opened my eyes one quarter way into the flying fox and the feeling was indescribable. I did not do the advanced rope challenge due to time constraint but I managed to help my group mates to complete it.

The next activity was Pioneering and we had to build a catapult to attack our opponents.

There was also fire starting, where we used the materials gathered like dry leaves to start a fire.

Last but not least was shelter building, where we put our campcraft knowledge into use to build a suitable shelter.

After all the key activities, it was campfire!. It was a different one for me, as I was a song leader. Initially, I wasn’t interested in the role. However, knowing that I will be one of those responsible for guiding the whole camp during the campfire, I decided to give it a try with the help of the Cadet Inspector and also all the other song leaders. It was awkward initially but I managed to step out of my comfort zone and lead the cheers along with the other song leaders. Amazing performances were put up by all the ASTC groups, and my group’s performance stood out from the rest and was one of the groups that the audience particularly cheered “AWESOME!”.

At the end of the campfire, I felt sad as the camp about to reach its end. However, all good things must come to an end. It was hard to say goodbye after being together for 3 days 2 nights. We managed to get one another’s numbers to keep in touch after the camp. I will miss the times that we eat, sleep as well as the activities in the camp. I regretted not being really active in some activities. If I have a chance to participate in this type of camps again, I promise to give my 100 percent.

Well done campers for completing the camp successfully! We hope that all of you had fun during these 3 days 2 nights!